Sanitary pad holder



Oct. 16, 1951 c, GEMQRA 2,571,357

SANITARY PAD HOLDER Filed Dec. 4, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. Canals-5562410 iwzw HrroEA/E Y5.

Oct. 16, 1951 c. GEMORA SANITARY PAD HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 4, 1950 INVENTOR. C HHRLES 6:41am BY flfrafiusri Patented Oct. 16, 1951 UNITED STATES PATNT OFFICE SANITARY PAD HOLDER Charles Gemora, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application December 4, 1950, Serial No. 199,098

7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in catamenial appliances.

It is a main object of the present invention to provide a catamenial appliance constructed to have a large degree of control over the absorbent pad which it contains. In previous catamenial devices the absorbent pad has been allowed to shift around freely and the catamenial device has had no control over the pad other than to hold it against the wearer. It is a main purpose of the present invention to eliminate this undesirable shifting and to provide a catamenial device so constructed that it has a large degree of control over the pad.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a catamenial device so constructed at the forward portion thereof that when the absorbent pad is forced forwardly for any reason, the absorbent pad will always be controlled to remain centered and will not be allowed to move sideways into a corner of the catamenial pouch.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a catamenial device having a pouch so constructed that the corners thereof on the inside of the pouch are round or curved so as to enable the pouch to be readily cleaned.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved means of attaching the catamenial device to the waist belt.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will be made manifest in the following detailed description and specifically pointed out in the appended claims, reference is had to the accompanying drawings for an illustrative embodiment of the invention wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a catamenial device embodying the concepts of the present invention showing the absorbent pad above the pouch before being placed in the pouch;

Fig. 2 is a side view showing the catamenial appliance applied to a wearer;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view in plan along lines 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view along lines 4-4 of Fig. 3, showing the relationship of the pad and' 2 8-3 of Fig. '7 showing the device prior to being applied to the wearer; and

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 8 except that Fig. 9 shows the device in the position it assumes after being applied to the wearer.

Referring to the accompanying drawings wherein similar reference characters designate similar parts throughout, Fig. 1 discloses a perspective view of the catamenial device in which there is provided a pouch it] made of flexible waterproof material of any suitable type, the pouch having forward straps II and I2 attached to pouch It] in spaced relation. Hook connectors i3 and M are adapted to receive the upper ends of straps II and I2 respectively and hook connectors l3 and I4 have hooks l6 and I! adapted to snap them onto a belt 20. The hook connectors l3 and Hi are slotted at their lower ends to provide teeth to adjustably receive the upper ends of straps H and I2 to adapt the length of straps to be varied.

There is a single strap at the rear of pouch it which has a hook connector 2'6 similar to hook connectors l3 and it. Each of the straps ll, l2, and 25 are connected to the pouch by means of a bell-shaped adapter 3%, said bell-shaped adapter having a smooth or rounded inner surface so that the entire inner surface of the pouch is curved or rounded to enable the pouch to be readily cleaned. The bellshaped adapters are preferably slotted at the outer solid end thereof to receive the lower ends of straps ll, l2, and 25 and said straps may be attached to the bellshaped connectors in any suitable manner such as by cement or the like. Pouch ID has an open top provided by opening IE to receive an absorbent pad 3!. I

The pouch IE1 is initially molded or formed so as to have a groove or arched portion leading from strap 25 down the underside of pouch [0 as best shown in Figs. 3 and 4, said grooved or arched portion forking at 36 and then leading to straps H and I2 as best shown in Fig. 3. It will be clear then that the distance from strap II to strap 25 and strap l2 to strap 25 is shorter when measured along the bottom of groove 35 and the forked grooves 3-9 and 40 than along the portions M and E2 of the pouch, see Fig. 4. When the pouch is applied to the wearer it is tensioned and therefore, there is a certain amount of stretch and this amount of stretch will result in tensioning of that portion of the pouch l0 forming the bottom of the groove 35 more than it will the portions 4| and 42, and therefore, the pouch II] will take a shape similar to that shown in Fig. 5,

thereby folding the pad ||l into a shape similar to that shown in Fig. 5. At the forward portion of the pad the forked grooves 39 and 40 will result in a dwble folding of the pad instead of a single fold shown in Fig. 5. When this occurs it will be obvious that the pouch ID has a great degree of control over the movement of pad 3| since the center grooved portion 35 in Fig. 5 controls the center of pad 3 I This construction will then prevent any undesirable shifting of the pad from side to side and two forward straps will cooperate with the grooved portion 35 to insure added control over the pouch I0 and pad 3|.

The reason for the increased tension at the bottom of groove 35 has been set out above, but added remarks on this point are thought desirable to fully appreciate this novel point of applicant's construction. The distance between the lower portion of strap I and the lower portion of strap 25 measured along the'bottom of groove 40 and groove 35 is less than the distance from the lower portion of strap II to the lower portion of strap 25 measured along portion 42. Therefore, when any amount of stretch is applied to pouch l0 it is obvious that the proportion of stretch on the shorter bottom of the grooved portion of the pouch is greater than along the portion 42, and therefore, there will be greater tension in the flexible pouch along the bottom of groove 35 than along 42 and this will result in a doubling up of the pouch as best shown in Fig. 5. This doubling up will of course double up the pad 3|. Therefore; the pad cannot shift within pouch H! because of the folding of the pouch as shown in Fig. 5, and since the pouch is controlled by straps l2, and 25, the pouch cannot shift. Therefore, complete control over the absorbent pad is obtained.

Another novel feature of the present invention is the provision of a bulge 46 at the forward portion of pouch l0. Bulge 46 performs the following operation. When the absorbent pad 3| is forced forwardly for any reason there would be a tendency for the pad to move to either of corners 41 or 48, but with the provision of bulge 46 the pad will fit within this bulge and therefore will be centered at all times and will not move sideways into corner 48. Even if there is some reason the pad 3| were forced sideways toward corner 48 it would immediately slip into bulge 46 and therefore be centered. Bulge 46 therefore, in conjunction with groove 35 and fork grooves 40 and 39 provide a degree of control over the absorbent pad which has not been heretofore possible.

A modified form of the invention is disclosed in Figs. 6 through 9, and the modified form of the invention comprises a flexible waterproof pouch 60 having a groove 6| extending longitudinally along the bottom of the pouch from the rear end forwardly and forking at 63 to provide divergent grooves 65 and 66 leading to the front end of the pouch. There are straps and II secured to pouch 60 and extending along divergent grooves 65 and 66, respectively. There is a third strap 12 extending along grooves 6| and strap 12 may be formed integral with either strap H1 or 1|. In Fig. 7, strap 12 is formed integral with strap 10, The straps 10, 1|, and 12 may be secured to the pouch 60 by a suitable adhesive 16 shown in Figs. 8 and 9 so that the straps 10, II, and 12 are secured to the portions of pouch 60 defining the bottom of the grooves along the full length of the grooves.

There is a pad 80 of absorbent material which is adapted to fit in the opening 8| in the top of pouch 60. Suitable connectors are secured to the ends of straps 10, H, and I2, and one of these connectors 84 is shown as being secured to the end of strap 1| in Fig. 6.

By providing straps which extend along the bottom of the grooves and which are secured to the pouch the folding effect of the pad is increased whenever the pouch is tensioned longitudinally. The strap construction also provides a convenient means for attaching the straps to the pouch in a simple and inexpensive manner.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my application Serial Number 119,310, filed October 3, 1949, now abandoned.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit and. scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A catamenial appliance comprising a flexible waterproof pouch adapted to receive a pad of absorbent material and having an open top, the pouch having a groove extending longitudinally along the bottom of the pouch from the rear end forwardly and forking intermediate the ends of the pouch to provide divergent grooves leading to the front end of the pouch, and straps secured to the pouch and extending from the ends of the grooves whereby when the pouch is tensioned longitudinally the pouch is tensioned most in the vicinity of the grooves thereby to force the pad to assume a folded shape.

2. A catamenial appliance comprising a flexible waterproof pouch adapted to receive a pad of absorbent material and having an open top, the pouch having a groove extending longitudinally along the bottom of the pouch from the rear end forwardly and forking intermediate the ends of the pouch to provide divergent grooves leading to the front end of the pouch, and straps secured to the pouch and extending from the ends of the grooves whereby when the pouch is tensioned longitudinally the pouch is tensioned most in the vicinity of the grooves thereby to force the pad to assume a folded shape, there being flexible reenforcements along the grooves leading to the straps to increase the folding effect.

3. A catamenial appliance comprising a flexible waterproof pouch adapted to receive a pad of absorbent material and having an open top, the pouch having a groove extending longitudinally along the bottom of the pouch from the rear end forwardly and forking intermediate the ends of the pouch to provide divergent grooves leading to the front end of the pouch, and straps secured to the pouch and extending from the ends of the grooves whereby when the pouch is tensioned longitudinally the pouch is tensioned most in the vicinity of the grooves thereby to force the pad to assume a folded shape, the pouch being thicker in the area along the bottom of the grooves to increase the folding effect.

4. A catamenial appliance comprising a flexible waterproof pouch adapted to receive a pad of absorbent material and having an open top, the pouch having a groove extending longitudinally along the bottom of the pouch from the rear end forwardly and forking intermediate the ends of the pouch to provide divergent grooves leading to the front end of the pouch, and straps secured to the pouch and extending along the bottoms of the grooves whereby when the pouch is tensioned longitudinally the pouch is tensioned most in the vicinity of the grooves to thereby force the pad to assume a folded shape.

5. A catamenial appliance comprising a flexible waterproof pouch adapted to receive a pad of absorbent material and having an open top, a pair of straps connected to the front of the pouch at spaced points, a single strap connected to the rear of the pouch, the pouch being formed to have a groove leading from the rear strap along the bottom of the pouch and forking to lead to each of the front straps, whereby when the pouch is tensioned longitudinally the pouch is tensioned most in the vicinity of the grooves to thereby force the pad to assume a folded shape, there being connector hooks on the ends of the straps to hook onto a waist belt, the connector hooks permitting adjustment of the length of the strap between the pouch and the connector hooks.

6. A catamenial appliance comprising a flexible waterproof pouch adapted to receive a pad of absorbent material and having an open top, a pair of straps attached to the front of the pouch in spaced relation, a single strap connected to the rear of the pouch, the pouch being formed with a bulging portion at the front center thereof to receive the pad when the pad is forced or moves forwardly, the pouch being molded to have a grooved portion leading from the rear strap along the bottom of the pouch and forking to lead to each of the front straps whereby when the pouch is tensioned longitudinally the pouch is tensioned most in the vicinity of the grooves to thereby force the pad to assume a folded shape to allow the pouch to control the positioning of the Dad.

7. A catamenial appliance comprising a flexible waterproof pouch adapted to receive a pad of absorbent material and having an open top, a pair of straps attached to the front of the pouch in spaced relation, a single strap attached to the rear of the pouch, the pouch having rounded or curved inner surfaces at the corners thereof to enable the pouch to be readily cleaned, the pouch being formed with a bulging portion at the front center thereof to receive the pad when the pad is forced or moves forwardly, the pouch being molded to have a grooved portion leading from the rear strap along the bottom of the pouch and forking to lead to each of the front straps whereby when the pouch is tensioned longitudinally the pouch is tensioned most in the vicinity of the grooves to thereby force the pad to assume a folded shape so as to thereby allow the pouch to control the positioning of the pad.

CHARLES GEMORA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,074,936 Paterson Mar. 23, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 557,407 France May 2, 1923 

